Search form

Search form

An analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative found that women who took certain low-dose and patch hormone treatments for menopausal symptoms were less likely to suffer heart attack and stroke. In particular, researchers found that the risk of stroke was slightly lower in women who took low doses of bioidentical forms of estrogen, or estradiol, orally than in those who took synthetic treatments. Women who took estradiol through a skin patch also had a lower risk of heart disease than those who took conjugated equine estrogen orally, researchers reported in the journal Menopause.

Related Summaries

A study in Menopause found that women who used an estrogen patch had a one-third lower risk of developing blood clots in the legs or lungs compared with those who took estrogen-only pills. Researchers think a hormone patch, unlike oral therapy, bypasses the liver and may not boost clot-forming proteins in the bloodstream.

A French study found menopausal women who used a hormone patch instead of pills were not at an increased risk of experiencing a repeat venous thromboembolism.
The finding adds to growing evidence that a low-dose estrogen patch might be a safer alternative to oral therapy in easing menopausal symptoms.

Menopausal women who used a low-dose estrogen patch instead of pills as hormone-replacement therapy had a lower risk of developing a stroke, according to a study. "Delivering low doses of hormones through the skin bypasses the liver and may reduce the whole-body effects," one of the researchers said.

Menopausal women who used a low-dose estrogen patch instead of pills as hormone-replacement therapy had a lower risk of developing a stroke, according to a study. "Delivering low doses of hormones through the skin bypasses the liver and may reduce the whole-body effects," one of the researchers said.

Menopausal women who used a low-dose estrogen patch instead of pills as hormone-replacement therapy had a lower risk of developing a stroke, according to a study. "Delivering low doses of hormones through the skin bypasses the liver and may reduce the whole-body effects," one of the researchers said.